North Canterbury's councils want the new government to listen to their communities
By local democracy reporter David Hill:
"Listen to our communities" is the message from North Canterbury’s council leaders to the incoming government.
The councils are united in their call for the Government, which is elected after October 14, to engage with and listen to local government.
Councils have been bombarded by a number of reforms from central government, including the affordable water and Resource Management Act reforms, and the future for local government review.
Hurunui District Council chief executive Hamish Dobbie said if the incoming Government is prepared to listen, "we are in business".
"But if they want to centralise and regionalise everything it will complicate things and make it difficult for communities to be heard."
Hurunui mayor Marie Black said her council was waiting on the outcome of the election to see what direction the proposed reforms will take.
"We are just waiting for October 14 to know what’s going to happen with all the reform.
"We are definitely waiting for some clear policy direction."
Black said she wanted the incoming government to put more resourcing into rural health.
Kaikōura mayor Craig Mackle said engaging with Canterbury councils "should be easy".
He said the Canterbury Mayoral Forum worked together well and presented a united voice.
"You expect being a wee voice, you are not going to be heard - I’m going to be stomped on, but there seems to be an understanding that what’s good us is good for them."
The reforms needed cross-party support, otherwise tax dollars were wasted by the next government unravelling the previous government’s legislation, he said.
Waimakariri mayor Dan Gordon said he wanted "a commitment to localism" and a review of the funding model to support local government.
He also wanted water infrastructure to remain in local ownership and control.
The ongoing reforms created "an environment of uncertainty", he said.
"These reforms all affect the very core of what we do as councils.
"It is important the successful Government is transparent and inclusive of local government in its review and decisions around these changes.
"We support local decision making as opposed to centralised services that are at arms-length from communities."
As a growth district, the Waimakariri District Council looked forward to projects like the Woodend Bypass, a replacement of Skew Bridge in west Kaiapoi, and the proposed Rangiora eastern link road, Gordon said.
■ Public interest journalism funded through New Zealand on Air.
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Hurunui cash plea rejected by transport agency
By David Hill, Local Democracy Reporter
A North Canterbury council’s bid for road funding has been rejected as too costly by the NZ Transport Agency (NZTA).
The Hurunui District Council requested to almost double its funding for the next three years, compared to the period 2021-24, NZTA director regional relationships director James Caygill said.
He said the council’s funding bid sought an increase of 184% from the 2024-27 National Land Transport Programme.
‘‘This increase was amongst the highest sought nationally.’’
About the country, councils put in bids totalling $6.5 billion for the 2024-27 period, up 42% on the previous three year period, Caygill said.
‘‘The total bid put forward nationally was unaffordable to the National Land Transport Programme, making it difficult to honour everyone’s bid.’’
Caygill said the agency had approved Hurunui’s request for an increase of nearly 50% in its funding for road resealing, and it ‘‘should be adequate to maintain and renew its network’’.
But at a council meeting on June 25, council chief executive Hamish Dobbie described NZTA's response as ‘‘under-whelming’’.
‘‘It is extremely disappointing given the amount of work we put into getting our roading programme together and it looks like they (NZTA) didn’t even look at it.’’
NZTA’s overall funding had increased, but Hurunui’s allocation was not enough to fund the upgrades needed to ensure the resilience of the district’s roading network, he said.
But funding for increased resilience works and other improvements were assessed separately under the ‘‘Local Road Improvements Activity Class’’, and funding information had yet to be released.
The council has deferred the adoption of its long-term plan until July 15.
■ LDR is local body journalism co-funded by RNZ and NZ On Air.
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